


The first Roundup

by TigerNightCat



Series: Final Fantasy Shifters AU [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Gen, Imprisonment, Master & Pet(s) - Non BDSM, Master/Pet, Master/Slave, No ships (yet), Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Not Beta Read, Platonic Relationships, Shifter AU, Slavery, mentions of abuse, shifters as pets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 17:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18183338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerNightCat/pseuds/TigerNightCat
Summary: Rounding up shifters isn't always a trial. Sometimes it's a quite Corner and Capture that no one except the participants attend. Learning the in's and out's of being a newly captured isn't always easy though.Lilliana's story - the very beginning.At least as far as she knows it.





	1. The Ties that Bind Us

**Author's Note:**

> This all starts way before Lilly met Noctis for the first time, as in Years before.
> 
> I will more than likely never actually tell her age if anyone is wondering. I may give hints, but nothing explicitly said.

“So, what was your Roundup like?”

******

Lilliana never wanted to be a pet. She never wanted to be owned. She never wanted to serve or be forced to look after another person. She was content to live on her own in her small house between the chocobo post and the Fallgrove, in the Kettier Highland area. She had direct access to water and animals to hunt, within a days run to the Chocobo Post if she needs to resupply, and the hunters got her messages if she needed help and they came by pretty quickly.

The best part was that no one asked questions about a girl living in the middle of the woods, seemingly alone. The owner of the Post didn’t ask why she walked into his area with no chocobo, and why she carried weeks worth of food in sacks to take back to wherever she lived. He didn’t say anything when she accidentally showed off strength of tem men without breaking a sweat. And he certainly didn’t ask why she never stuck around more than a few hours at a time. The only question she did get asked was if she wanted to borrow a chocobo to help take things home with her.

The only problem she had was when the hunters are drunk or tipsy. They tended to pick on her like they would any other female in the area. The cat calls were annoying, but she is a cat and can ignore the behemoth in the room and make it feel uncomfortable for being there in her presence. She only had to toss one man into a pile of furs once for them to stick to verbal advances.

Usually she had no issues with anyone. At night the magics of the Fallgrove kept the demons away, or at least drawn to the Fallgrove itself and away from her place, and the hunters avoid the place because of the powerful demons. During the day, they tended to stay away because even if they wanted to go after the demons, they can’t get into the Fallgrove. Her place is just enough out of the way of the usual paths, that the hunters almost always miss it.

She had no need for the special lights from Lestallum because the demons ignore her when she shifted at night. If she does need to be human, there is a haven near enough to run to for nocturnal protection. During the day the only things she had to worry about are rogue animals, which she can take down fairly easily. She may be a defective shifter, but she’s still got strength behind her size.

One day during early spring she needed to go get some supplies from the chocobo post. The winter had been harder than she thought it would be and had held her up an extra week to getting in to resupply. She slipped on her custom travel bags and Changed to run to the post.The run was a familiar one that she had done a thousand times before. She knew where to hide from the roads, hide from hunting animals, hide from the hunters themselves if they were around in her woods, Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and she didn’t expect any surprises to happen on the way.

The post was quiet, but there were tourists around looking at the chocobos and hanging out in the store area just like always. She walked out of the woods on two feet and greeted by her least favorite employee, James. He was never mean to her, but he was always watching her.

“Hey Lilliana” he waved at her “Here for your usual supplies? Let me help you grab it all.” He came forward and put a hand on her back to usher her to the storefront.

He’d never done that before, any of it. It was weirding her out just a bit but she went along with him. As they neared the store window she gave a genuine smile to the girl in the window.

“Hi Julie. How’re you?” Her smile wasn’t returned really, a scared and worried look crossed the woman’s face at seeing Lilly. The female kept glancing behind Lilly at James and the other tourists.

LIlly narrowed her eyes slightly and her smile faltered a bit. “What’s wrong?” She looked behind her and doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary to her. James had gone off to grab some of the more heavy objects for her and was out of quiet earshot. When she turned back Julie had leaned in closer. The woman was whispering one thing. “Run. Run now. Run.”

“What?” Lilly asked. She was so confused. Looking around the “tourists” have all moved closer, some with swords and guns out. _How did I not notice?_ She backed up and hit the counter. Looking to her left she saw another sword in her direction so that was not the way to go. To her right was another wall, a corner that she’d backed into.

“What is this? What’s happening?” She kept trying to find an opening to get out of this trap somehow. She’s pretty sure they wouldn’t be this well armed if they thought she was anything but human.

“Stay calm. Lilliana correct?” A man all in black was speaking to her seemingly gently. He was holding up his hands and trying to look harmless but she wasn’t buying it. The multitude of men behind him with weapons drawn and pointed at her kept her on edge.

She nodded at his question asking her own in return. “Who’s asking?”

“The name is Nyx. We were asked here because there was a report of a shifter around here. Do you know where it is?” He was inching closer with each word. She couldn’t get much further into her corner and was starting to panic slightly.

“Why. The shifter hasn’t been hurting anyone. They just want to be left alone. Let me go, please.”

“Do you know where it is?” He repeats. He motioned for the others to stay away seeing the panic in her eyes. “The report said that they were scaring the birds around here, but you don’t seem like the type to do that, are you?”

The others had stopped moving forwards and at his last question she looked directly into the man’s eyes. “You don’t seem….? You think I’m the shifter?” He’s right, but not for scaring the birds. They loved her for some strange reason.

“There was a tip saying a young girl going by the name of Lilliana might be the shifter in question. We just need to make sure. We don’t mean you any harm.”

 

“Right. That’s why you have me cornered and all those weapons pointed at me. No, I’m going home. Move out of my way.” She has had enough of this. She wanted out. She wanted home. She took a step forward in the only direction she could.

Out of nowhere a net dropped on top of her. It was large and heavy and for some reason it was stopping her from ripping it to shreds with her strength. She’s not the strongest shifter out there, not by a long shot, but she could easily rip a net to pieces.

The net kept sapping her strength, growing heavier and heavier as she struggled against it. The men were shouting orders, some running up to her still with their weapons out, others yelling at her to stop struggling. The man, Nyx, had backed off and she couldn’t see him anymore. None of the men actually touched her though, for which she’s grateful for in hindsight. They grabbed the ends of the net and somehow slipped it under her to tie together and close it completely.

One of the men came up to her after she finished her struggling for the moment. He looked like he was large brick wall. Large, commanding, and mean. She wouldn’t trust him for a moment even if she were free. He looked down upon her and addressed her “That net is designed to hold the strongest shifter. I suggest you stop resisting. You won’t get out of it.” He shouted at the men to take her away.

She’s put off balance as the net was lifted into the air by three men. All she could do was hang onto the ropes and try to stay balanced. The ropes dug into her skin and she could see the fine silver colored wire woven throughout the net. That must be what was keeping her from accessing her shifter side. Not that she had even thought to Change on them. They’re just humans. She didn’t want to hurt them, even with them brandishing weapons at her.

As they carried her out of the area she glanced back to see James and the other employees staring at her. He had a smirk on his face like he knew something would happen. Julie looked scared and sad. The others were all a mix between those two emotions. She looked around for that Nyx guy, seeing as he was the only one who had treated her like a human during this ordeal, but couldn’t find him.

Ten minutes later they arrived at and entered a large cargo ship. She had only ever seen them flying by in the sky before. Never up close and personal like this. She wished she had never seen it though. They tossed her none to gently into a cage in the storage area and somehow got the net off of her without actually going into the cage themselves.

Her first impulse was to try the bars, but she felt a hum when she got near them that warned of danger. She decided it’s better not to try that avenue yet unless she absolutely had to. The men stared at her and one even drew his weapon as she neared the bars. She glared at him and stepped back into the center of the cage. It was not a very large one, barely tall enough for her to stand upright fully. It’s probably 6ft tall at the maximum and about 6ft wide and long. It was definitely meant to keep a shifter in their human form and not Change.

The large man from earlier came up to the bars and sneared down at her, daring her to try anything. She ignored him. She finally spotted Nyx among the humans watching her and asked “Where are you taking me?”

The man looked towards the guy snearing at her and answered “To one of the Shifter Farms in Insomnia. You’re to be rehabilitated and trained there.”

“Rehabilitated? From what? I haven’t done anything! Let me go!”

“Enough. Don’t talk to the animal. She’s cargo, nothing more. Back to your posts” The large man barked out. All of the men saluted and dispersed, except for four which took up stations around her cage, one at each corner.

 _How am I going to get out of this one. They’re taking me to a Shifter Farm. I heard about those. Shifters are kidnapped, trained, abused, and sold as pets to the wealthy._ She had talked to a few of the pets in the chocobo post when wealthy tourists would bring them with on vacations. It was not a life she ever wanted to have, so she hid her shifter side as well as she could.

 _How did I not smell all those weapons at the post? I didn’t sense a thing wrong there. Why didn’t I notice?_ She couldn’t help berratting herself over it. The only answer she could think of was that she was a week late and it had been raining and snowing so much that the scents were washed away. The human scents smelled so much like chocobo, that scent must have covered everything else. _I should’ve ran as soon as James started being nice. He’s never nice to me. Then when Julie was looking scared. She tried to help me. She tried to get me to run while I still had room. Why didn’t I follow my instincts then?_ She sat down cross legged in the middle of the cage and put her head in her hands. She felt so foolish for being caught and having no escape plan for this.

Amazingly she took a fitful nap in the center of that cage. The hum never shut off, so she never went near the bars. Waking up she was disoriented and scared. The human, Nyx, was at the cage edge though, watching her. She looked up at him, took a deep breath in prep for saying something, and then just gave up, deflating. The man worked for the other kidnapper. He’s not going to go along with anything she said or try to help her escape. She deflated just a bit more and stared at a spot about a foot in front of her on the floor.

Nyx made a questioning noise at her. Probably wondering what she was going to say. He’s here under orders though, so he didn’t have time to converse with the smallest shifter he’s ever seen. “Lilliana. I need you to put this on around your neck. It’s a control collar. We can’t let you out of there until you wear that, and these arm bands.”

“Control collar. Let me guess, so anyone with the frequency can short me out and put me down in an instant if they think I’m a danger or out of line. What happens if I don’t put it on?”

“You will be tranqued, contained, restrained, then outfitted with all the latest control sets the captain can find on this vessel. I’ve seen the stock of what they could put on you. It’s much nicer, safer, and easier if you just put the collar and arm bands on. From what I’ve seen as well, you get treated better at the Farm if you have the collar and bands on and don’t need the extra restraints.”

He placed the collar and the arm bands just inside the cage bars, far enough away from her that it had to be a conscious choice to pick it up and put them on, not a forced one. She slid closer and picked up the main collar piece. It looked like a simple leather collar, nothing fancy, which she guessed was a good thing. She could see the metalwork lining the inside of it so it could zap her when the control was pressed. She slipped it on and tightened it to one tick less than flush against her skin. “I would suggest flush against your neck, but if it’s too tight, I can understand. Can you fit two fingers under it? Looks like it’s good to go then. Now the bangles. They go on your wrists and just above your biceps. They must be as close to flush as they can be with your skin. If you need help putting them on, just put your arm through the bars and I’ll latch them for you.”

She looked at the armbands and slowly picked one up. It was a thick leather piece about two inches wide. All four of the pieces were two inches wide but two different lengths. She started to attach it to one wrist and as soon as the clasp was closed she felt strength slowly drain out of her. _They want me as weak as a human. If I have four of these on, I won’t be able to defend myself._ That thought terrified her more than putting the control collar on. Strength as a shifter was all she had. “All four of them?”

“Yes. All four of them. If you don’t, I know where leg and ankle bands are as well. Make this as easy as possible for yourself.” At his words she frowned then tossed them back out to him. She got up as close to the bars as she could without touching them and put a single arm out between the bars. He caught the bangles and sorted them out, clasping one of the shorter ones to her wrist and the longer one around her upper bicep. He was very gentle but efficient. She wasn’t going to get out of this any time soon.

As he was attaching the second band to her upper arm she asked the one question no one had yet answered for her. “Why me? Why do you think I’m the shifter that tip was talking about? Wouldn’t one fight back against all those weapons you had pointed at me?”

He paused momentarily thinking of his answer. “There are many ways to detect a shifter. While you were talking with me, the others were double checking those instruments and the readings came back positive. If they were negative, you would have been left alone. You also reacted to the net. It’s made specifically for shifters and normal humans don’t react at all to the net. Finally, these bands feel like your strength is being drained, right? They have no effect on a non-shifter. They’d just be bulky accessories if I wore them.” He finished tightening the final band checking to make sure it was secure. “As for fighting back. It all depended on the shifter. I’ve seen some fight hard enough to break bones, others just gave up right away. Those guns were there with tranqs in them with enough juice to take down a large behemoth easy. I would be more worried about you getting hurt than us.”

“Do you have any other questions you want answered? This is the last time someone is going to to talk to you like a human. Once I leave your training starts.”

She pulled her arm back inside the cage checking on the bonds herself. They wouldn't budge. They weren't uncomfortable but they weren't nonexistent either. “There's nothing I can say or do to get out of this is there? Then why? Not why me, obvious, shifter, but why round us up at all? I'm as intelligent as you are. I'm talking to you. I'm human.” She searches his eyes for answers, trying to hold back tears at the thought of never going home. _If you say money I will bite you next chance I get._

“Finally admitted you're a shifter hmm? As to why? Because I'm ordered to. I've already gotten back at the one animal that hurt me so it's nothing personal. I have to make sure no one else gets hurt.”

“Your statements don’t add up.” She mumbled more to herself than anything. She looked down at her wrist bands and states louder, “I never said I wasn’t one. Never said I was one either. No use denying it now though. You’ve got me trapped good. How much of my strength is going to be sapped? It doesn’t seem to end.”

“It should stop when you’re about as strong as a normal human female. The longer it takes the stronger you are it seems, but that’s for a scientist to answer.” A call caught his attention and he turned to acknowledge it. “Times up. You seem like a smart girl so I’ll give you some advice. Keep your head down and don’t verbally answer unless given permission to do so. You understand?”

She started to say she did but he made a noise that cut her off. The look he gave her made her look straight down at her knees and nod her understanding. “Good girl. Just remember those two things and you should do fine. Good Luck.”

Why would he give her advice on how to survive on a farm? She’d just be sold as soon as she got there. Though maybe not. She was a broken shifter. Maybe no one would want her. This was not going to be fun.

A noise in front of her caught her attention and she looked up. She caught herself just in time to stop from looking at the person’s face and settled on looking at their chest. It was the man who kept snearing at her and a few of his cronies. _Probably can’t ignore him this time, not with this collar on at least._ The man barked an order and the door to her cage opened up slowly. She didn’t move from the spot she was sitting, not wanting to provoke them when they had the upper hand. A hand appeared in her line of sight and she frowned at it. There was a clip on the end of a rope. A second hand came into view and grabbed her chin pulling her face up and away from the people.

It happened so fast that she barely had time to react. With a shout she pulled away and fell backwards onto the floor, putting a hand to her neck. They had gotten the clip attached and now that she was looking she saw it was actually a leash. Her hand grabbed onto the clip holding tight and looking between the leash and the one holding it. She didn’t try to unhook it but only because one of the men had pulled a tiny box out of their pocket and was holding it up for her to see. They were yelling at her but she couldn’t hear any of it, her focus entirely on that tiny box. Unclenching her muscles one at a time she slowly released the clip and put her hand down on the floor. The man’s hand relaxed on the box minimally the further her hand got from the clip.

“Up.” That was the only word the man holding the rope, the leash she corrected herself, said to her. He jerked the leash to emphasize his single word. She followed the tug slowly, getting up and trying to not look up at the humans at the same time. The collar rubbed uncomfortably on her neck but she doesn’t want to risk getting hurt to adjust it. They may think she’s trying to remove it and shock her. She’s not sure how the collar works, but she’d bet it’d hurt and that’s not on her to do list for the day.

“Present.” She wasn’t sure what that meant but didn’t want to risk asking. Thankfully the man clarified “Present your wrists.” _Oh. Makes sense._

There were a pair of D-rings on the wrist bands that she had noticed earlier but didn’t credit with any use other than decoration. That was her first mistake. Her second mistake was asking “Why” out loud. The human with the control box didn’t take kindly to that and ‘shocked’ her for her trouble. It felt like someone was putting tons of tiny needles into her throat and arms under the bands. They bit deep. Deeper than anything she had ever felt. It freaking hurt. Putting her hands up to her neck she dropped to one knee trying to ease the pain. That was her last mistake. She got another shock for that from the human and the feeling of a fresh set of needles in her skin. She barely kept her hands from grasping at her neck this time, instead grasping her elbows and curling over her arms. She didn't receive a new shock for that for which she was very grateful. Taking the few moments they let her have, she got her breathing under control and the pain dissipated to a manageable level. _Ok. Note to self. Never do that again._

At the next Up and Present command she stood carefully and presented her wrists out to the man with her head bowed watching her feet. No shocks came this time so she guessed she did the correct thing. The man latched the two D-rings together and connected another lead line to them making it a second leash. He then led her out of the cage and out of the transport ship.

*******

“That’s enough for now. Let’s finish this another night. You’re safe and you will never go back there. Go rest and relax away from the memories.”


	2. Meeting the Foreman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somedays it pays to be a sneaky feline when one wants something badly enough.

“I’d like to tell you that I knew what happened right after I was led out of the ship, but I’d be lying. I don’t remember most of it. It was to overwhelming.”

“Just tell what you remember to the best of your ability.”

*********

The smells were very intense. She’d never been anywhere like it, as far as she knew. The places she’d visited never smelled like pure shifter with a tiny bit of human thrown in. It was usually fully wild or mostly human in her experiences. It didn’t smell like happy shifter either. There was fear and sadness in the air around her, along with a sterilizing, clinical, smell? If she dared to look up the place was probably spotless. As it was, though, looking up and around was the last thing on her mind. 

She was concentrating on following the humans in front of her and not looking up any higher than their ankles. She did not want another ‘shock’ from her collar ever again. Since she wasn’t paying attention to those around her she missed the subject of the human’s conversation. She finally started paying attention again when she heard someone saying they’d need to see her Changed for payment.

“You understand, I can’t give you payment without knowing exactly what she is. You haven’t seen her animal? Are you sure she’s even a shifter? That's the smallest one I've ever seen.”  _ I'm not that small _ she growled in her head.

“No. I haven’t. I catch the animals. I don’t do your job for you. Figure it out yourself.”

“Fine, fine. Take her over there and hook her to the post.”

She wasn’t sure where “there” was but hooking her up to a post didn’t sound as bad as it could be. The human led her over to the center of the room and attached both leads to a post in the center. He didn’t say anything just hooked her and left to the outer area again. She followed him with her eyes as much as possible without actually looking up. She caught a glimpse of a wide open area with a sandy floor, she couldn’t see how tall the ceiling was but there were large wooden posts holding up the roof. They weren’t anywhere near her though. Nothing was near her, not even the humans.

The word “Change” was barked out behind her. Since no one else in the room could Change as far as she was aware, she assumed it was for her. She hesitated for a second worried that she’d break the bangles and collar she wore but in the end she didn’t care about their property at all.  _ If it breaks it’s on them. _

She took it slow to not startle them, but not as slow as she would if she was showing off. First her skin color changed then her size and shape. In the place of a 5’4” human girl was a 12ft long, black and white, striped cat. She didn’t have the giant electrified whiskers of a Coeurl, or the fangs and claws of the canine shifters. She was seriously underpowered for the area she lived, but she had made it work.

It felt strange. The collar and bangles had grown with her changes and still sapping her strength. She could feel the one on her neck like a threat and the ones on her upper arms. They felt huge even though she couldn't see them. Looking down the ones around her wrists, well front ankles now, looked to have grown in thickness as well as diameter to follow her changes. They were about six inches wide now and almost a half inch thick. They weren't coming off without some serious clawing but with the humans around she wasn't going to risk trying. Knowing her luck as of late, they have some backup program to hurt her if she did try.

She flicked an ear back to the humans as they spoke. “What is this? You brought me a broken shifter? This won't sell at all. What is it even?”  the voice was getting closer and despite the sandy floor she could feel the vibrations of the men walking towards her.

“Not my problem. Interesting look though. Could probably market her to nobles as a rare out of country species.”

Something tapped her flank and a command to stand followed. Raising up she kept her head down but her ears towards the humans. There was a tug here, a poke there, all random spots as they inspected her closer. She had to fight the urge to turn around and bite them for doing so. Her paws clenched at the ground in agitation digging a small divot from her ministrations. She did not like being touched by strangers.

These humans though. They touched and poked and prodded. They examined her much closer than she’d ever been examined before. She was just merchandise to these humans, nothing more and it showed in their every action.

She just stood there, gritting her teeth and waiting to see what happened next. They picked up one of her paws, then the other, looking at her claws and fur. They never spoke directly to her except to bark orders. Unfortunately with the collar and cuffs on her, they had all the power and they knew it.

Eventually the smaller of the two men barked “Change” at her again and they waited for her to retake her human form. Standing there with her head down they again poked and prodded her, moving her this way and that. When they pulled her chin up she closed her eyes, fighting every instinct to pull away. There were crescent marks on her palms from how hard she was clenching her fists and her cheek was chewed to bits from her stress. She never once spoke though, which was remarkable to the humans. None of the other shifters had pulled that off during their inspections. They always whined or growled or snapped at some point.

“Open. Look directly at me” she blinked her eyes open looking directly at him for the first time. Ugly human in her personal opinion but still taller than her. She kept her face as neutral as she could. “The most vibrant shade of green I've ever seen. Here take a look.” He turned her face towards the one who started this whole mess forcing her to look at the man. “Fine. I'll pay your full fee. Let's go finalize this.”

He finally let go of her chin and she dropped her gaze back to the floor. They didn't unhook her from the post or give any orders for her to do anything in particular so she just waited. As soon as she heard them leave she looked up and around the room. It was a tall ceilinged place held up by large poles embedded into the ground. She had seen a traveling circus once when it came to the chocobo post and this looked like their main tent. Outside of the walls she could hear voices of others. There were lots of them coming from every direction but mainly coming from the two main exits she could see. One the two humans and the guards went out, the other opposite of that. She could see a hint of metal bars through that particular door. Probably more cages if her guess was correct.

Sinking down to the floor, it was just to much. Tears fell silently down her face. She cursed the humans as much as she was able to in her head. They caught her. They weren’t letting her go, that much was clear.  _ I’ll just have to make the best of it. No one will ever buy me  _ she made a promise to herself. The humans won’t know what hit them. She steeled herself and waited for them to come back and start the next part of her new life.

*******

The farm was comprised of several buildings and three large fenced in field areas. The shifters were housed in one of the smaller buildings, floor to ceiling cages acting as their rooms. 5-star accomodations to be sure, 10/10 she would  _ never _ recommend. The other buildings were used as meeting rooms and evaluation rooms. Potential owners asked the foreman and he had whatever shifter, or shifters, pulled from the cages and into one of the other rooms to be inspected and tested. The one building no shifter was allowed into was the human’s offices. The humans did all their business and payments in there. She had seen countless normies go in and out of there.

Training was almost non-existent. She had to learn by doing instead of someone directing her. Thankfully she rarely got in trouble. Observation was one of her strengths, normally, and she used it to the best of her ability. Watching the other shifters she learned when to be quiet, when to speak up, and how to act when potential owners were in the buildings.

To say she was the bane of the foreman’s existence would be an understatement. Shortly after that first fun filled day in the observation arena she decided that she would never be sold to anyone she didn’t want to be sold to. She never did anything overt but she wasn’t that subtle either. She played up what the clients didn’t like and pushed interest away from her as much as possible.

The foreman had tossed her into one of the largest shifter’s cages in frustration after another potential owner passed her by because of her antics. He probably thought she would be humbled after a quick throwdown with the larger male shifter. He didn’t stick around for the outcome. If he had he would’ve seen her throw the larger shifter up against the bars when he attacked her, forcing him to submit. The bars were bent slightly by the force of the impact. She did not take kindly to being attacked and this time she didn’t care if the other party was hurt. She wasn’t losing again.

The other shifters who witnessed it couldn’t believe that this slip of a shifter could take down their den’s Alpha. They kept asking her how she did it. That she shouldn’t have been able to do it. “You have four binders on. How did you take Marcus down? He only had his one binder on and he’s the largest of us here. You shouldn’t have been able to even push his hand away from you.”

“What do you mean I shouldn’t be able to do that? It wasn’t hard at all. Yeah the binders are draining my strength, but it’s not gotten rid of all of it. Maybe he’s just weaker than you thought he was? I don't know. What I do know is that he will never touch or attack me again unless he wants the offending limb removed. I’ll happily take on anyone else who wants to test me. Any takers?” she said from her spot atop the larger shifter's back.

No one took her up on her offer of challenge. All the shifters present started to defer to her when they weren’t being ordered around by the humans. She was the new defacto Alpha of the area, even if the humans didn’t acknowledge it. 

She didn’t like that place at all. The forman didn’t take great care of his inventory and it showed. No one was happy or energetic. She had had enough. A third pet had been returned within three weeks and he had been taking his anger out on the poor creature.

She stepped out of the shadow she had been hiding in and got between the shifter and the human. “Excuse me Sir, but may I make a suggestion.”

“Where did you come from? Get back in your cage.”

She bowed slight at the waist. All senses on the humans movement but eyes down to the floor. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Sir. Not with you hurting your own inventory. You won’t get any profit from a broken pet.”

He worked an eyebrow at her, not quite believing what he was hearing from a shifter of all things. “What's your play?”

“Straight to the point I see. Alright. Let me oversee your inventory and make ownership recommendations. Letting the clients choose their own pets hasn't been working. You want better matches so nothing is returned.” She kept wincing internally while calling the shifters inventory. It was the only way to get through to this particular human though. He always thought profit over their comfort.

“And why should I do that? You're inventory yourself. I'm just waiting for the right offer.”

She shook her head. “No you're not. No one wants me and I'm wasting your time and money by being here. Let me look after them though and you won't have any returns anymore. I know your inventory better than you do at the moment. I can recommend matches that won't fail and profits will increase because of it.”

She wasnt getting through to him judging by the look he was giving her. “Three weeks. Two to make recommendations one for returns. If there are none made in those three weeks from those I have a hand in then you'll let me take over their care and training.”

“And what would I get in return? I already have you and them.”

She put up her only option she knew of on the table. “I will stop fighting you. I'll be the perfect merchandise item for any client you choose. It will even make the King want to buy me. You know I can do it.”

He did know it. There were rare times that she had stepped in on purpose to stop sales and kept the client's attention until the inventory piece could get away. He took a long moment to think about it, noticing finally that the pet he had been punishing had disappeared.  _ She's good. _ “Fine. Three weeks. If anything is returned your tail is mine.”

She bowed low in response, “Thank you Foreman. You won't regret it.”

They spent a bit more time fleshing out the details of how she was to make recommendations without others noticing and a few more logistical issues. They both came out of the arrangement feeling like they had a shaky truce but still didn't trust each other at all.

She spent the remainder of the day silently freaking out that she confronted the foreman like that and came out unscathed. Now she just had to make perfect matches. She could do this…. She didn't know how, but she wouldn't give up.

She was  _ so  _ over her head.

*******

Three crazy sneaky weeks later she got dragged into the Foreman's office and the goons left her in there alone with him. The man looked angry, glaring at her from over his steepled hands. Something must've happened. Did someone get returned and she not hear about it? Not that she knew of and she was gathering information 24 hours a day trying to make this work. What happened? This couldn't be good. She braced for angry words that never came.

The man continued to glare at her while she was worrying. He growled out, “You are better at manipulation than I thought you were. Not only have there been no returns in the last three weeks, it seems my reputation for finding the perfect pet has grown. I have people from very high places coming to see my inventory and to make their perfect match. I expect you to keep up this level of perfection, understood?”

She blinked at him, his words sinking in after a moment. She wasn't in trouble. She was being praised. She bowed low and formal, the picture of perfection. “I understand Sir. I will continue as long as you permit me to.”

A jingle in the air made her look up and snatch something out of the air that was flying at her. She opened her hand to see a ring of keys, not many but still more than she could believe he'd part with. “You'll need those to do your job. They're to the cages and the yard. None are to the outside or to the collars. You will never get those. Keep it up and you might get more of them. No promises though. Any backtracking and you lose all of them. Now get out of my office.”

And with that, she fled. She got all the way back into the main housing building before the adrenaline left her and she collapsed onto the floor, sinking down to her knees. She had done it.  _ She had done it! _ She now had a real chance to help the others have a good life instead of that horrible game of Niff Roulette when getting a Master.

She started laughing and then crying all at the same time. Some of the others came over worried, but she just wrapped them in a tight hug. She did it. They asked her again if she was alright after she let them go. “I'm great. I'm wonderful. Who wants to go outside to the yard?”

She then lead the way, opening every door she could with the keys she had. She'd get all of them eventually, but this was a good start. She never answered any questions on how she got the keys, that was between her and the human and always would be. She wasn't going to mess this up by being loose lipped the very first hour.

The guards must've been told out the arrangement because they didn't even bat an eye when almost every shifter spilled out into the yard. Some Changed right away rolling in the grass and sunshine while others just stretched and enjoyed the fresh air.

She couldn't contain her energy and Changed bounding around the yard at full speed. None of the shifters had ever seen her form before so they stared openly at her. Their Alpha was a broken one? How could they not have known that?

One of the children had Changed into their Voretooth form and chased after the harmless looking cat to play. They didn't care that she didn't have fangs or claws like the others. They just knew it was Lilly and they wanted to play with the Changed kitty. Lilly took up the challenging roar and soon a giant game of Catch the Cat was happening around the yard. Even the adults couldn't not smile at the antics of them all.

So what if their Alpha was broken. Their Alpha was still their Alpha no matter the form.

Eventually the sun set enough that they had to call it a night or risk the guards actually doing something about them all being outside. Lilly, having Changed back a while ago, hearded everyone back inside but didn't lock any of the cages. She checked on everyone to make sure they were all there and safe before she found her own sleeping spot. A few of the adult shifters made their way and settled into a pile around her. That was the first night since she arrived at the farm that she had an actual good night's rest.

Maybe things were finally looking up.

******

“It sounds like you found your place there eventually. Do you miss them?”

“The humans, no. The others? Sometimes. I wonder what has happened to them, did they get good homes. Did the kids finally grow up. That sort of thing.”

“We will see what we can do to find out.”


	3. Normies are Wierd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilly meets the Prince and his friends for the first time. They are strange humans.

The voices on the other side of the door were loud. They weren’t mean, but they weren’t kind either. She could recognize some of the voices out there. The King. His Shield

“Leave her here. Noct can come in and meet her without all the pomp and circumstance of a ceremony. I want this to be just like every other pet he’s been given. It’s just a human looking one instead of an actual animal.”

“What if she attacks him? We won’t be in there to protect him as we should. Gladio will be in there, but he can’t handle a shifter yet.”

But there were voices that she couldn’t recognize there as well.

“You’re giving me a pet? What type? Is it a cat?”

“Noct, you’re so cool to be getting a pet. Do you know what type it is yet?”

“He needs to be alone with it to establish a bond first. Everyone else out!”

“Do what Specks says guys. Noct needs to do this on his own.”

Honestly, she’s terrified. She doesn’t want to be in this room all alone. She doesn’t want to be in the traditional Harem clothes for a shifter pet. She doesn’t want to be a pet. She just wants to go home.

The voices were coming closer to the door so she decided to settle down onto the large ceremonial pillow in the middle of the room and just wait. Kneeling, head down, hands clasped in her lap, trying to keep her breathing under control.

_ Were the rumors about being a Citadel pet true? They could be completely fake, but what if they weren’t. All rumors have to have started with truth at some point. Maybe we don’t have to crawl at all times and when not in motion be chained to a post or chair or anything. Maybe collar usage isn’t as widely used as the rumor said, and only when it was actually needed, not just because the normies wanted to use it. _

The door opened and she tensed curling in upon herself a tiny bit more. She couldn’t and wouldn’t look up at her new Master or speak to him unless he allowed her to.

_ Why would they want me? I’m a broken shifter. The King must’ve made a mistake. What if it was a mistake? The Foreman won’t be happy. He never liked returns. What is my new Master like? A sixteen year old kid. Will he even like me? What if he’s cruel? What if…… _ her runaway train of thought was interrupted by a pair of sneakers coming into her view.  _ Tennis shoes? What kind of Noble wears tennis shoes? I’ve only ever seen the ugliest high fashion loafers and dress shoes. What kind of guy is this? _

She barely resists looking up at the human. She watched, motionless, as the shoes start to walk around her slowly and come to rest again in front of her.

“Hi. My name’s Noctis. Who are you?” The voice is soft and kind. He sounds like this might be a good thing, but she’s not ready to let down her guard in the least. She won’t answer until given permission to do so. She can practically hear the frown on his face as he realizes what he’s missing. “Oh right! I’m sorry. You have permission to speak freely.”

_ He’s sorry? For what?  _  “My name is Lilliana, but I will answer to anything you wish to call me, Master.”

“Lilliana. That’s a pretty name. Will you raise your head and look at me?”

“If that is your order, Master.”

“It’s not an order, it’s a request. You can say no if you want.” His voice isn’t angry at her not following his direction right away. She can hear the rustle of cloth as he crouches down in front of her. His hands come into view, they’re relaxed and not tensed to hit like she’d been worried about.

She takes a deep breath and raises her head to meet his eyes for the first time. He’s all deep blue eyes and falling midnight black hair. He looks so young and old all at the same time. She’s not quite sure how he manages that but she knows he’s more aware of what’s around him than one might think. His eyes almost seem like a shifter’s to her in a way.

“Wow, you have the greenest eyes.” She immediately blushes deeply and ducks her head back down, her hair hiding her face. He chuckled and stood up. “Would you like to stand? That can’t be comfortable sitting like that for long.”  _ Why is he asking? He could just order me. _

“Let’s go back to my rooms. It’ll be more comfortable there. Need a hand?” She looks up slightly and sees an outstretched hand offered out to her. She reaches out tentatively and he grasps her and pulls her up gently. “Hey, you’re smaller than I thought you’d be.” She can’t quite stop the pout from appearing on her face and he had the gall to chuckle at her.

He lets go of her hand and starts to lead the way out of the room. She stays a few steps back and to the side just as she had trained others to do over the years. At the door she stopped, waiting for the prince to attach a leash to her collar as was protocol, but he didn’t. 

_ He should know more about protocol than I do. Why? _ “Um. Master. Is there a leash I may attach?” She didn’t want to ask, but if she goes out and there’s nothing on her, she might get punished by someone. As he turned around she put her hand up to her collar, eyes still on the ground.

“Shoot. I keep forgetting that. Sorry. I’m not used to having a pet myself. Thank you for reminding me. I have one here.” He holds up one end and hooks it onto a ring on the front of her collar. She glances up at his face and sees he’s giving her a big smile. She can’t help but give a small one in reply.

They leave the room and had just turned the first corner when a whisper comes from behind a large potted plant. “Hey Noct! Noct! Over here!”

“Prom? What are you doing here?”

“Is this your pet? Is it? Hi I’m Prompto.” The boy is a blonde bundle of energy that comes right at her. She takes a step back and behind her new Master, blatantly hiding. 

“Prom. Calm down. Go wait in my room before they lock it. I’ll answer all your questions there.” Her Master pushes the ball of sunshine in front of him. The blonde tries to resist but eventually runs ahead, presumably to the Master’s rooms.  _ Who was that and how does he treat a prince that way? _

“Sorry about that. That’s Prompto. He’s my best friend. He can be a bit intense.”  _ Well that explains that. Why does he keep apologizing to me? I’m just a shifter. _

He starts leading her again at a slower pace, probably to let the boy get far enough ahead of them. They take to many different hallways for her to keep up but eventually they make it to a nondescript door in a nondescript hall. “Well here it is. Home sweet home.” He opens the door and sweeps out an arm to show her inside.

The place is huge if the entryway is anything to go by. You could fit ten people in just that small space and still have room. She doesn’t take in the architecture though. She just steps to the side and kneels down next to the door waiting to be told what to do next.

“What? Oh, yeah. You can walk upright and talk freely while in my rooms. If you have any questions or needs do not hesitate to ask. I think that covers all of it right?” He leans over and unhooks the leash, dropping it unceremoniously to the floor and pulls her up onto her feet, drawing her deeper into the room before she can protest.

“Noct is that you? Prompto said you have a lovely looking shifter to call your own now.” An elegant voice calls out from the other room. Following the voice is a tall thin man with glasses. She backs up slightly away from the man only to bump into something solid.

She turns and looks directly into the wide expanse of a wall of muscle. She blanches and looks up and up and a bit further up into the scarred face of one of the largest men she’s ever seen.

A good pet would do nothing except look back down and wait for orders. An OK pet would squeak and back up. She is apparently neither of these things because first thing she does is Push the wall in front of her.

She doesn’t push hard but her push is a bit stronger than any shifter she knows and the wall of muscle is thrown backwards off his feet. Thankfully he lands on a couch that was in his way instead of a wall. She’s horrified she did that and sinks to the floor practically crying.

Cries of dismay happen around her but she’s not paying attention. She’s trembling on the floor scared to death she’s hurt the man and that she’s going to be hurt for it. She didn't mean to. It was an accident. He was behind her and huge and it scared her and every shifter that comes up behind her wants something and she’s to small for them to get the hint so her first reaction is always to push them away. Her thoughts are spiraling out of control when a ball of sunshine lifts her chin to meet his sky blue eyes. “Lilly. Lilly. It’s ok. Breathe. Calm down. He’s ok. Gladio isn’t hurt. You did nothing wrong. Focus on me. Listen to my voice. Gladio is alright. He’s unhurt. Noct isn’t mad with you. No one is mad at you. You won’t be punished for this. You’re safe.”

The man in question was making his way over to them slowly. If it was from caution or because he was hurt, she couldn’t tell. As soon as the man was sitting in front of her he gently forced her chin up to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Fingers on her lips stopped her from saying any more.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I was in your space and knew you were a shifter. I should’ve been a few steps away and not crowding you like I was. The fault lies with me.”

She can't believe that this was happening. They weren't angry with her? They say it's their fault?  _ Who were these people? _

“Let's start over. I'm Gladiolus, Noct's shield. The tall guy with glasses is Ignis, his advisor, and the blonde is the best friend, Prompto. What's your name?” The shield, Gladiolus, sounded calm and relaxed. Not angry in the least. Maybe they're telling her the truth.

She glances over to her Master and at his encouraging smile says quietly. “Lilliana. My name is Lilliana.”

A genuine smile graces the shields face. “Nice to meet you Lilliana. May I call you Lilly?”

No one has ever asked her that before, at least not after her Round up. She's not sure how to answer except to say “If my Master permits it. I would like that.”

“Miss Lilliana, would you like something to eat? It's probably been a long day for you.” The man has a lovely accent to listen to and she almost misses the fact that he asked her a question.  _ Miss? Why do they keep asking me things? _

She ducks her head, not answering, completely overwhelmed by it all. A hand comes out and pulls her back up onto her feet for a third time that day. The same hand gently wipes away some of the tears shed during the last few minute’s excitement. “Come on. Let's go eat. Ignis has the best cooking around. What's your favorite food? We might have it here and if not he can whip it up for you.” The voice comes from the ball of sunshine as he pulls her gently into the room towards what looks like the biggest kitchen in existence to her.

She cant remember her favorite food, it's been to long since she had anything other than what was given to her. Is she actually allowed to answer? So far they've been encouraging for her to answer, but when will that end? Should she really try to push her luck? “Um. I don't have a favorite. I like fruits and berries?”

“I'm sure we have some of those here. Noct doesn't eat much of them so there's usually plenty. Do you like vegetables too?” The advisor asks from behind the huge counter. He's already rummaging through the various cabinets to find plates, bowls, and other things.

Sunshine had finally let go of her to go help and taller man and let her move on her own. She slowly sneaks towards a wall and puts her back to it while waiting for the chaos to calm down.

Her Master leans against the wall next to her. “Sorry this has got to be overwhelming for you. We will all get used to each other soon hopefully. Ignis there cooks and bakes a lot. He makes the best food you’ll ever have. If you think of anything you want to try, he can probably make it. Gladio trains all of us in weapons and self defense, but that will be put off for a few days. Prom is here daily and is into photography. You might ask him to see some. He loves showing people what he captures with his camera.”

The sunshine in question walks up to her and holds out a plate of strawberries. “Here. You like strawberries?” He hands her the plate and then just stares for a minute, making her uncomfortable.

She keeps her eyes down on the plate not meeting his at all. He must not be around pets much. They’re not allowed to eat in their Master’s presence unless allowed. She doesn’t want to eat it for fear of punishment but she also hasn’t eaten since the day before. She was too nervous that morning to have anything. Honestly she had been to shaken after the King told her that she was his choice instead of listening and going elsewhere for a pet for his son. She was starving.

“Have some.” Her Master solves her dilema for her without knowing. She takes one and nibbles it. The taste is sweeter than she remembers and the next thing she knows is the plate is half empty.

“I’m guessing that’s a yes.” Sunshine says with a smile. 

She blushes as deep as the berry still in her hand and she puts it down slightly ashamed.  _ How could I lose control like that. Everything these humans do puts me off. I have to try harder to be better. Show them I’m a good pet even though I don’t want to be one at all. _

“Did I say something wrong?” Sunshine looks between her and her Master. “I didn’t mean to. Please don’t stop if you like them.”

“Prom, you’re staring. Go help Iggy and Gladio. Let her relax a bit.” Her Master pushes the other boy around and back towards the two in the kitchen.

There’s five places set up at the table.  _ Why are there five places set up at the table? _ Did they expect another guest? They couldn’t possibly expect a pet to eat with them. Could they? They’ve broken every expectation she’s had today already. Why stop now.

Each of the males took a place behind one of the chairs at the table and looked over at her expectantly. “Come join us Lilly” one of them said. She didn’t catch who.

“But, I’m a pet. We don’t eat at the table with humans.” She had made her decision a while ago. Her Master kept apologising and saying he forgot protocols so she would gently remind them all what those were if needed. This was one of those times.

“And where do you eat, my dear?” The advisor asked.

She motions to the floor by the wall. “On the floor with what is given and allowed to eat. A pet must never eat in the presence of their Master or other humans. If they are allowed to eat, then never to be seen eating directly.”

“So what you’re saying is, you must be isolated, given only what is deemed just enough to sustain you, and then make you hide even that away.That seems like a very cruel way of having meals.”

“We are pets. We are usually caged and then fed so no Masters or Owners can see, or lose precious time ordering things to happen. I will wait until you are finished and then take any left that I am allowed to take.”

“Well today you are going to be with us, so up on the chair at the table and dig in like the rest of us. You won’t be disappointed. We will address anything else tomorrow.” 

She moves forward slowly to the table. One of the men pulls out one of the chairs and helps her scoot her chair in. Each of the men take their seats and starts to dig into the delicious looking food. She picks up one of the utensils after a moment, trying hard to remember how to use it properly. It’s been so long since she was at an actual table it looks like a foreign object. She knows the name of it, but not how to use it anymore. She puts it down slowly and put her hands under the table. Maybe she could get away with not having anything today.

Her Master noticed her hesitation and instead of drawing attention to it like she would expect him to, he spears a piece of meat and holds it out to her. “Hey. Have you tried this yet? Here.” He puts it up to her mouth and she automatically bites down on it without a second thought.

Heaven blossoms in her mouth. The taste like nothing she’s ever had before. A tiny moan escapes her and she blushes hard at it. She swallows and looks at the advisor. “You made this? It’s amazing.”

“You like it? I’m very glad. Did you try this part?” He spears a different piece on his plate and holds it out to her. She bites down on that piece automatically as well. Another happy moan escapes as she chews and swallows.

The other two males caught on quickly and they all start feeding her pieces bit by bit. They never ask why she never touches her plate or utensils or why she doesn’t question them feeding her their food. She notices her Master feeds her most of his vegetables, but she’s alright with that. She loves everything they give her. By the time they finish their own meals she’s stuffed silly. She’s never felt this full of such great food.

Before she can get up to clean up everything she’s grabbed and dragged off to the living room. She’s pushed gently onto the couch and told to relax by the ball of sunshine. He settles down on one side of her, her Master on the other. As much as she wants to stay vigilant and not relax, the place is warm, she’s full, and it’s been such a long day for her. She slowly tipped sideways onto her Master’s shoulder listening to the idle chatter of the males and the television in the background, her eyes heavy. She didn't even notice when she fell into a tired comfortable sleep.

She barely stirred when Gladio picked her up and carried her to the room they were going to give to Noct’s pet. They didn’t know if the shifter would be male or female, so the place was devoid of personality. They had planned to take her out shopping to see what she liked and disliked and to create the room to her personality. She seemed so skittish and scared of any movements the males did around her though. 

This might be a little harder than they thought it would be. Ignis will spend all night researching how shifters were trained and share with the others in the morning. They all would not like anything he found. 


End file.
